Asia Bond Monitor - March 2020

<p>This issue of the Asia Bond Monitor reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic and deepening global economic uncertainty are weighing heavily on local currency bond markets of emerging East Asian economies.</p><p>Apart from emerging East Asia government bond yields have also declined in major advanced economies and select European markets between 31 December 2019 and 29 February 2020.</p><p>Local currency bonds outstanding in emerging East Asia totaled $16 trillion at the end of December 2019 up 2.4% from September 2019 and 12.5% higher than December 2018. Bond issuance in the region totaled $1.44 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2019 a 9.5% decline from September last year.</p>